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Leica Biosystems’ Mission Is to Change the Image(s) of Pathology

Leica Biosystems’ Aperio ePathology division in Vista sees opportunity in ultrahigh definition — whether it is looking at high-resolution images of tissue samples for pathologists that its equipment and software make possible or the images of Albert Einstein’s brain it has cataloged for posterity using its technology.

The company is spreading the word — and pictures — in an effort to move pathology from the analog world that much of the field remains in to the digital age.

Leica’s ePathology system provides pathologist with suite of tools that enables pathologists to collaborate remotely and share opinions.

“What we want to do is provide digital images of tissue samples that can be shared by a network of pathologists, and provide analytical tools that allow them to be more effective,” said Puneet Sarin, vice president and general manager of pathology imaging at Leica.

Covering the Pathology Process

Leica provides a range of products for each step in the pathology process, from preparing and staining samples to imaging and reporting.

The company was founded in 1999 as Aperio Technologies Inc. and was acquired by Leica — a German life sciences company — in October 2012. About 200 people are now dedicated to growing the company’s ePathology unit, of a total 1,600 Leica employees worldwide.

The company is targeting two types of users and sectors: physicians in health care and researchers in life sciences.

Leica is attempting to help physicians — as well as life sciences companies —reduce turnaround times, ultimately lowering the costs associated with tissue study.

That’s because the current process is cumbersome, Sarin said.

After a tissue sample has been prepared on a glass slide to examine under a microscope, it can be viewed by one pathologist. If another wants to look at it, it must be carefully shipped, which can take several days.

But Leica offers another way. Once a sample has been scanned by Leica machinery, the image can be made available on the company’s ePathology cloud network which facilitates simultaneous, global and real-time viewing. It protects and archives images so that they can be viewed at any time — making second opinions much easier to obtain from a variety of sources.

This enables pathologists to peer review and consult on slides — an important tool, since pathologists can and do disagree in their conclusions.

Leica is conducting “a heavy amount of clinical research,” but Sarin did not say with whom the company is collaborating.

The company is also focusing on helping life sciences companies, particularly drug developers, share pathological information in real time, with aims to hasten the workflow for research.

Image Analysis Tools

With the Leica system, scientists can zoom in 200X and see beyond what a human eye can detect. The company is developing precision image analytical tools that enable scientists to quantitatively study biomarkers or tissue patterns and then compare them with normal tissues. These algorithms can help the viewer understand what exactly he or she is seeing on screen.

Leica is working on ways to make this technology more accessible to a network of hospitals, life sciences companies and pathologists. It’s exploring rental and lease programs, and is branching into providing scanning and hosting services.

Back to Einstein. The brain, which Einstein left to science and which has been sliced for study, was recently hand-delivered from the Silver Spring, Md.-based National Museum of Health and Medicine to the Leica scan lab in Vista. Each cross-section was “photographed” at extremely high resolution, with all 546 images sized at about 60 gigabytes apiece, enabling scientists to view and discuss the mechanics or brain structure behind this scientific genius. At the same time, Leica’s participation in the project is making many more people aware of the company’s capabilities.

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